Interaction Between Ru Nanoparticles and Pr6O11 Triggers Catalytic Ammonia Synthesis

The essential role of metal–support interaction in ammonia synthesis was investigated by using a Pr 6 O 11 supported Ru nanoparticles (NPs) catalyst system. Loading of Ru NPs onto the Pr 6 O 11 support with relatively low surface area yields similar metal dispersion with respect to conventional SiO 2 support. The Ru NPs on the Pr 6 O 11 was found to exhibit excellent catalytic performance in ammonia synthesis, superior to free-standing Ru NPs and Ru NPs on conventional SiO 2 support. Detailed structure analysis results reveal that the superior activity of Ru/Pr 6 O 11 can be attributed to the enhanced interaction between the Ru NPs and Pr 6 O 11 , which can modulate the electronic structure of Ru NPs and trigger catalytic ammonia synthesis over Ru NPs on Pr 6 O 11 . Furthermore, nitrogen isotope exchange experiment reveals that superior nitrogen dissociation ability is essential for the excellent activity and intrinsic activity of Ru/Pr 6 O 11 in ammonia synthesis. These findings demonstrate that Pr 6 O 11 can be used as a new kind of support for preparation of efficient Ru-based catalysts for ammonia synthesis, and also open up opportunities for design of Pr 6 O 11 supported metal catalysts for other catalytic reactions. Graphitical Abstract Interaction between the Ru NPs and Pr 6 O 11 can modulate the electronic structure of Ru NPs and trigger catalytic ammonia synthesis over Ru NPs on Pr 6 O 11 .